Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-20


the inevitable, actually built that city
up. though centuries NAV embrace the
task. See how Jerusalem survived every
vicissitude. whilst Babylon. Nineveh and
Memphis persisted without struggle.
The former was hated and destroyed by
tyrants time after time: the latter were
the creatures purely of tyrants. Jeru-
salem survived principally because OF
the very destructive acts employed
against her by cities and countries long
dead. She is and ever has been legiti-
matelv provincial. commercial and re-
Egious capital, and is still regarded as
such to the changed methods of d
Scientific civilization which can only
picture the lifeless ruins of her rivals as
the creatures of despots. with no power
to live longer than their special builders
lived, monuments of men and not cities,
in general and social sense.
A true city must come into existence
as the result of combination of varied
circumstances. covering a certain field
of action. which employs the energies of
man in some social aim The broader
and more varied that field may be in all
its attributes. the grander and more
varied will be the characteristics of the
the mines. the forests or the more fertile
fields OF its territory. If it is. its char
acter is special and local. But it must
be. and despite the special aims of men,
will be built at some eligible point of as
semblage and distribution of all the
social and commercial factors, and
their products. A city so founded has
lease of life co-extensive with that of all
H. Of Irn
territory which created it. This is borne
out by historical and statistical facts,
and is not mere assertion or fancy.
We will not stop to enumerate the adj
vantages of Wichitas internal develop
ment and consequent unrlyaled
superiority in her legitimate field of
action, but to proceed to consider her
location with regard to the resources OF
that field as to supporting cities. She is
within few hours ride by rail of
dozen rapidly developing places OF that
kind in every direction. She does now.
and will ever present to the people of
those cities a metropolitan char
acter that will control their
extra local wants in every way IN spite
of any local preiudices. Within all
this field of supporting cities she is IN
the center of an unriyaled food supply
that can furnish the means of living at
the minimum cost enjoyed by any people
of large city. In this area, aside from
brick, stone, salt and gypsum, the nat
ural resources are purely agricultural so
far as known. But just beyond this
area our present railways traverse vast
coal field in nearly every direction; and
from thence pass on through rich min
eral-producing countries into virgin Tor
ests of lumber of many useful varieties.
And vet. in all this rich and but partially
developed territory, we have not
passed out of a rich pastural, horticul-
tural and agricultural country. 1t is in
Wichita that will be assembled the rich
products of Texas, Arkansas and Kansas
with those of New Mexico, Colorado and
Nebraska. Here they will undergo their
commercial and mechanical factorage
and be distributed to vast population
according to their wants.
The development of Wichita thus
far is the result it would seem of the
pioneer period in peopling the virgin
prairie and constructing 1.-The principle
extended lines of rivalry Immediately
near her. That result has capitalized
and is organizing her population for
the varied metropolitan purposes prece-
dent to the next legitimate step. What
that next step will be will best be seen
when under the control of this city,
either few thousand miles of railway
will be built over our smooth prairie
country to connect it with its special
commercial interests or every general
western system will center here and
legitimate competition give us special
rates. With special rates for this
city by the railways viii begin the era of
metropolitan developements. And the
special rate must soon come as a legiti-
mate demand which the roads will not
be able to deny.
1t matters not who erectS our great
buildings, or who owDs our realty or
what their fate shall be. 1t matters not
to the general purpose who Is now rich
or poor and shall be then poor or rich,
famous or obscure, these great concerns
will remain and they with the land they
stand on constitute the inanimate city,
the animate city will come and go with
perpetual succession. But her destiny
is fixed beyond peradventure as legiti-
mate city. W. L. HUTCHINSON.
With magnificent soil. rich, deep, in
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